A Kiss in the Closet
by celestialwhisperer
Summary: Follow our favorite flying teen as she lives in the aftermath of an unfortunate text related incident.
1. Chapter 1

**Guess who is back, humans? That's right, ME, celestialwhisperer! You all know how people never actually accomplish their New Year's resolutions? Yeah…**

**Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay, but I have a very busy social life, believe it or not. And right now my school is doing this weird new testing thing, so I've been studying my butt off for it. Ugh.**

**If you haven't noticed, I've begun quite a lot of new stories, so prepare for floods of updates (if not floods than at least ponds).**

**Now for our feature presentation…**

Max sighed. This night could not get much worse.

She had gone to her friend Nudge's party expecting to have a good time and under-aged drinking, but she instead wound up playing a spin-the-bottle-seven-minutes-in-heaven game (and if you don't know what either of those are, Google it).

Nudge was first to spin the bottle, and she ended up spending seven minutes in a closet with some guy named Tony.

After seven minutes was up, the closet door was opened to reveal a blushing Nudge and a smirking Tony. After the group had finished mercilessly teasing them, they all sat down in a circle and proceeded with the game.

It was soon Max's turn to spin, and though she thoroughly objected to it, she eventually gave into peer pressure and spun the empty Coke bottle as hard as she could.

The mouth of the bottle spun past guy after guy, before finally stopping to point at a guy who had introduced himself as Nick. He wore a black t-shirt and black jeans, and his black hair was swept over one eye. He swore silently and stood up shakily, brushing off his jeans and staring lazily at Max, sizing her up.

A giddy Nudge led the two to the closet before pushing them in and locking the door.

Max clumsily stumbled into Nick but quickly righted herself, moving as far away from him as she could in the small closet (which was like two inches). She moved her gaze from his chest to his face, to see that a light blush had dusted over his face as he stared down at her. That gave her the courage to say something.

"Nudge will never let us out if she doesn't think we're doing something. She has like, a sixth sense or something."

"Yeah," Nick agreed after a moment. "I figured that much."

"So…" Max trailed off suggestively.

"If we do something," he slowly said. "Let's agree it doesn't mean anything. And when we get out, we act like it was nothing, even if it was something."

_Even if it was something._His words echoed in Max's head.

"Deal." Max said with finality.

Nick stared at her for a moment before leaning in closer and putting one hand on her hip and one that rested on her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

In turn, Max wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him down to her level. This was followed by another moment of staring before Nick leaned down and captured her lips with his, fitting her mouth to his.

The gentleness of the kiss surprised Max, but she thoroughly enjoyed it. He tasted of chocolate and mangoes and something else entirely just described as Nick (cliché, I know, sue me).

Just as she thought he would pull away, he again surprised her by slipping his tongue in her mouth, making Max gasp, but she instantly wanted more. She pressed on further, moving her hands from his neck to his chest, letting her hands roam the flat clothed planes.

Nick was enjoying this as much as Max was. Her hands felt like heaven on his chest, and her kissing skills were incredible. He was almost sad that this would mean nothing.

Things then got quickly heated.

Max pressed herself against his body, wanting more, more, more.

Nick gave a short growl and released her mouth reluctantly. He moved his mouth down to her pulse point, sucking and biting.

Max let out a soft moan, but Nick wanted more, more, more.

He licked and sucked harder, making her moans louder and louder and her hands grip his hair.

The pair were suddenly interrupted but the sound of the door being unlocked from the outside.

They quickly jumped apart, straightening out their clothes and patting down unkempt strands of hair.

Nudge threw open the door, grinning.

"How was it?" she asked.

"It was cool. We just chatted." Nick replied coolly.

"Oh really?" Nudge scoffed, disbelief evident in her voice.

"Yup." Nick replied, pushing past Nudge to the living room.

Max followed him with her head down, slowly sitting down across from him in the circle of teens.

"This game is lame," Nudge complained. "It's basically how far a guy can get with a girl in seven minutes while the rest of us just sit here like idiots."

Tony suddenly jumped up. "Wait a second; let me grab something from my car!"

He returned a few moments later lugging a giant cooler behind him. Tony dramatically threw the top off as everyone gathered around.

"Oh, sweet!"

"Damn man, that's some loot."

"All…those…bottles…"

Max leaned over the heads of a couple of guys from her senior class; a short dude name Gazzy who had some serious gas problems and his best friend Iggy, who was blind, but was still able to find the most inappropriate places to touch a girl.

The cooler was full of all different types of alcohol: tequila, vodka, a bottle of red wine, and two cases of beer.

After a minute of gaping at the cooler, a hand shot out and grabbed a beer. Max looked up to see that the hand belonged to no one other than Nick, who smirked at all of them before taking a sip.

"Drink up."

**So this story is to make up for not updating for a bit, and I'm not sure if I want to make this think a multi-chapter or keep this as a oneshot. Oh well.**

**See y'all next time!**

**-celestialwhisperer**


	2. Chapter 2

Guess who's sticking with her update schedule? ME! Some of you may not have believed I could do it, BUT IT IS DONE! (and if you didn't believe

If you haven't seen my update schedule yet, go to chapter four of Be My Light, it's there.

As I've mentioned before, I'm having a case of writer's block with Fax drabbles, so if you guys could help me out, that would be really awesome! Also, if anyone has any future story ideas that would super cool of you to suggest it!

I've decided to make this story more than a three-shot, like I had originally planned. I really want to stretch out the plot and develop the characters more.

SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS, you might be a bit surprised with what I do with one of them in the story.

And here is what I have delayed for some time…

There he was, the ignorant little twit. He was acting all cool and nonchalant in his black t-shirt with some weird band name on it, not even seeming to notice the daggers a certain someone was glaring at his back.

Max bit down on her thumbnail. It had been two days. Two days since the party, and Nick hadn't texted her or called her, or even emailed her! She didn't want to seem obsessive, but wasn't it polite to contact someone after you make out with them in a closet?

Max huffed loudly. Her dilemma was truly frustrating.

"Just go talk to him already, sheesh. Your goo-goo eyes are making me sick." Nudge stated off-handedly, slamming her locker shut.

"Wha-what? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Max exclaimed nervously.

"Come on, Max," Nudge said, rolling her eyes. "I was there when you guys got out of the closet. It's totally obvious that you are totally into him!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Deny it all you want, it just convinces me more that I'm right."

Max sighed. "I will deny this if anyone else asks me, but maybe, deep deep down, a tiny part of me sort of likes him a little."

"OMG! OMG! I have to text Angel!" Nudge squealed, whipping out her phone.

"No- Nudge- stop!" Max exclaimed, lunging for the phone.

Nudge dodged Max's attempt and tapped a few buttons on her phone. "And, send!"

Max sighed in defeat. "Fine, as long as you and Angel are the only people who know."

Nudge nodded enthusiastically and looked back at her phone. "I can't wait for her to reply- OH MY GAWD!"

"What is it now?" she asked Nudge impatiently.

Nudge gulped. "I may or may not have accidentally have sent the message to all of my contacts instead of just Angel."

"WHAT?"

Max watched in horror as everyone's phone notified them of Nudge's text. Gasps of "OMG" and "LOL" filled the hallway, along with laughter and mockery.

Max pulled out her phone and looked at the text:

STATUS UPDATE: MAX HAS IT BAD FOR NICK LOL!

Ignoring Nudge's string of apologies, Max ran as fast as she could to the girl's bathroom.

After yelling at some sophomores to "get the hell out of there," Max turned on the sink and splashed water onto her face, hoping that it would wake her up from a terrible dream.

No such luck.

"Keep it together, keep it together…" Max kept mumbling under her breath. Max had promised herself a long time ago that she would not make a big deal about any matters to do with romance or boys, and she was determined to keep that promise.

After taking a deep breath, Max prepared herself for whatever was coming for her once she walked out of the bathroom. But right before she put her hand on the door handle, a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Honey, you can't go out looking like that!"

Max whirled around to see Dylan, her high school's only openly gay student, standing behind her.

Dylan was in Max's senior class. He had neatly combed blonde hair and sharp blue-green eyes. Dylan's parents were both CEOs of popular tech companies, so Dylan was always dressed in high end preppy clothing.

Dylan and Max were once a "thing," but after Dylan came out of the closet, he ended their relationship. Max really didn't mind, she didn't want to be tied down her junior year anyway.

Dylan had a habit of hanging around in the girl's bathroom, being shamelessly honest about passing girl's hair and makeup choices, as well as giving out style tips. Many of the girls at Max's school were very fond of him.

Dylan sidled up to Max. "You better fix that hair, girl. It's a disaster! And that makeup? Were you blindfolded when you got ready this morning?"

Max laughed. "No, I'm just having a bad day."

"Oh, that's right," Dylan said empathetically. "I got the text."

"Everyone in the entire freaking school did. And now everyone knows that I got it bad for Nick! My life's a living horror!"

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Save the drama for your mama, sister!"

Max chuckled and allowed Dylan to work his magic on her hair and makeup. "Viola!" he said when he was done.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

THIS UPDATING SCHEDULE IS KILLING ME!

I used to complain about how some authors update really late, but now I realize how hard it is to make time for writing! I have a newfound appreciation for some people.

I'm sorry if I offended any gay people, I haven't met an actual gay person in real life, so I don't know how they act.

If I update late sometimes, I apologize in advance because some days I can't put enough time aside to write and edit.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I currently don't have a beta for my stories, so if anyone wants to be my beta, just private message me.

So, I guess I will see you all Thursday for Penelope Reagan Alexander!

Love ya,

celestialwhisperer


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry. That's all I really have to say. The reviews I'm getting are extraordinary and I don't want to disappoint you guys. Special shoutout to Mickey4023 for bitch slapping me(in the best way possible). I really needed it, and now I'm back.**

Max took a deep breath.

It had been a week since what she dubbed the incident and it was still the talk of the school.

Max had managed to avoid Nudge and about every other human being in the school up until Friday when she bumped into Nick turning around a corner and ended up spilling everything she was carrying. She could still remember their conversation…

_"Er- Sorry."_

_"For what?"_

_"For the text that my friend Nudge sent out. You must be way embarrassed."_

_Nick rolled his eyes. "We all don't act like high school girls you know."_

_"…"_

_"Besides, I don't care that much."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"It was only a couple of kisses. For a stupid game. Plus, the text was probably a joke, right?"_

_"…"_

"Listen,_ Max, if the kiss meant anything to you, I'm sorry, but I'm not looking for anything like that right now."_

_"Are you kidding? The text was totally a joke! It was just Nudge being silly."_

_"Cool, cool. Well, I got to go." And with that, he left her_ alone_ in the hallway with her binders and pencils strewn about around her_.

After their conversation, Max felt put off. She knew he was right, it was just for a stupid game, but to her, it was more than that.

That day when she came home, she felt numb. Everything that had happened with Nudge and Fang hit her like a giant tidal wave but she was too far underwater to feel the effects. She didn't cry or scream or talk; she just sat in her room until her mom called her down for dinner.

Nudge had called her so many times by then, but after about the twentieth time, Max blocked her number. She didn't have the will to deal with her.

**HEHEHEHE LINE BREAK**

After adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, Max pushed open the metal gate and walked forward, the uneven stone beneath her feet making her stumble a few times.

In science, Max's teacher had assigned partners alphabetically and unfortunately for Max, that meant working with Nudge.

She was beginning to feel better than she did a few days ago, but that didn't mean she wanted to confront her problems.

Before Max could ball up her hand into a fist to open the door, it was swung open with such force that it knocked away Max's hand, leaving little marks on the knuckles, revealing Nudge's mom.

Nudge's mom was shorter than Nudge herself, but with similar dark hair and dark eyes. She was a thin lady with slight curves and a skinny waist. She was unlike Nudge in the way that she was more reserved and practical, not one to giggle at a silly joke but to tell the teller that it was unpractical.

"Maxine," she greeted Max warmly. "Nudge is in her room, head on up! It's been almost a week since you've been over!"

Max smiled in reply and padded up the stairs that led to Nudge's room.

Just as she was in front of Nudge's door, it was suddenly opened by an overly excited Nudge.

_This family has a habit of violently opening doors._

"Max!" Nudge squealed/screamed. "Come in, come in! It's so nice to see you, I am so excited-"

Max cut her off by clearing her throat. "Let's make one thing clear; just because I'm your partner for this project doesn't mean that I forgive you."

Nudge's smile deflated a little. "Of-of course! Um, we should get started…"

**DONT MIND ME IMMA LINE BREAK**

Max felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Both girls were broken from their focus and Max hurriedly checked to see what the cause of the disturbance was.

"My mom's here." she announced as she stood up and shouldered her bookbag.

Nudge put down her pen and looked up at Max from her position on the floor. "You can stay for dinner if you want. Mom's making chicken pot pie and apple strudel for dessert. Your favorite."

Max remembered that in the summer she would hang out at Nudge's so late and so much that she would have dinner there all the time, and more often than not, her mom and her older brother Ari would join her.

The small dining room was always filled with the laughter of their little group: Max, Ari, her mom, Nudge, Nudge's older sister Belle, her mom, and her dad.

Max gave Nudge a smile that looked more like a grimace. "No thanks. My mom's making salmon and I want to make sure she doesn't burn down the house."

Nudge simply nodded and waved a simple goodbye. She didn't feel like walking Max to the door, and Max was grateful for that.

At the bottom of the stairs, Max ran into Belle. And I mean literally ran; she wanted to get out of the house as soon as she could.

Belle was the same age as Ari, 23. She went to the local community college and was working to get her degree in communications. She had light brown hair, even lighter brown eyes, and had a voluptuous figure and didn't mind flaunting that fact.

"Slow down there, kiddo." she said jokingly.

Max laughed nervously and tried to brush past her, but Belle stood firm and blocked her path.

"Listen," Belle said, placing her hand on Max's shoulder. "I know my sister can be an ass sometimes and she makes a lot of mistakes, but you have got to forgive her sometime. She's been moping all week and she even skipped out on the One Direction concert she's been looking forward to all month because she was too upset to get out of bed. And I think you're overreacting a tad bit. I mean, come on! Next week someone's going to get pushed in to a fountain and someone else is going to get pregnant and you'll be old news. So for the sake of my sister, and my sanity because I can't take her breaking down again, forgive her."

Max shrugged off Belle's hand and walked out the front door and down the pathway.

In her heart, Max knew she was overreacting, but she couldn't just forgive Nudge just like that.

**HI IM A LINE BREAK LOL**

School the next day was very awkward for Max. The first semester of her senior year came and went, and with the next semester came different electives.

And this is how Max ended up with a plastic ring from a gum ball machine and a "husband."

Max had decided that taking Home Ec didn't bother her to much, so she signed up for it at the beginning of the year with Nudge.

As Max entered the classroom (avoiding the intense and emotional gaze of Nudge from across the room), she was told that she and this guy named Sam would be a "couple" for a couple of weeks. She was told by Ari (who had taken Home Ec when he was a junior) that each couple was assigned to a part of the Home Ec room and were to take care of a fake baby.

Sam had explained to her that he was told that girls liked rings, and even though they weren't actually married, he felt that the gesture (even though the ring only cost him twenty-five cents) would be appreciated. Max though it was sweet.

After everyone got situated, the teacher began to explain that another senior who already finished the course would come in every day and be an assistant for her, and that blah blah blah… Max had tuned out by then.

The teacher droned on and on, but a sudden knock on the door woke Max up from her daze.

"Ah, Mr. Waters, how nice of you to join us. I was just telling everyone about you!"

Max's jaw dropped.

Nick was the teacher assistant.

**LINE BREAK AGAIN**

It was week two of "Project Marriage," and Max and Sam's assignment for the day was to sew clothes for the newest "addition" to their family. The two had grown more acquainted with each other in the past two weeks, and the more time she spent with Sam, the less she cared about Nick.

This, of course, did not go unnoticed by Nick. He seethed every time Sam would touch her shoulder reassuringly whenever Max didn't know if she was doing something right, or when they would hug whenever they got a good grade. Needless to say, Nick. Did. Not. Like. Sam.

This confused Max since Nick made it pretty clear that he wasn't into her. His rude behavior towards Sam irked Max, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

As it turns out, Nick was the one who confronted her one day towards the end of class. Sam was out sick and Max seemed like she needed help folding some towels (Nick's reasoning).

"Hey," he said, breaking the awkward silence between them. "Are you and Sam- I mean, uh- Are you and Sam like, together?"

Max smiled warmly at the thought of Sam. "I don't know," she said. "He's sweet." She gave him a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

**Hi guys, I made that chappy a bit longer, because I am a terrible updater.**

**Love you my stars,**

**celestialwhisperer**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! So just to clear things up, I've been mixing up which grade Max is in in my writing, so I'm making her a junior, don't hate me for being a weird writer. I'm terribly forgetful with this stuff.**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: STILL CAN'T DO LINE BREAKS IN DOCS MANAGER HELP**

Max was getting pretty tired of ignoring Nudge. The poor brunette emailed her everyday, and it was almost impossible to not see her at school; their lockers where next to each other after all.

This was such the case on Monday morning, the day Max and Nudge's project was due. Both girls planned to come to school early so they could review their paper together in the computer lab before printing and turning the paper in.

Max arrived at the computer lab and checked her phone. In order for her and Nudge to communicate about the project, Max unblocked Nudge's number.

Just as Max sat down in front of the computers, she received a text from Nudge.

_Slept through my alarm, I'll be there in ten minutes._

Max sighed before signing into the computer and pulling up their paper in Word.

She was deep in thought when Nudge arrived, almost fifteen minutes later.

"Sorry I'm late," she said while pulling a chair next to Max's. "Belle refused to drive me here before she curled her hair."

Max ignored Nudge and set the keyboard in front of her. "We need to fix paragraph three…"

**LINE BREAK YAY**

Max fidgeted quietly in her seat.

She was currently in sixth period, science. Her teacher had collected everyone's papers at the beginning of class so they could be graded, giving them the rest of the period to fool around.

After what seemed like forever, the teacher began to give back the papers and call up students to give them feedback.

Iggy and Gazzy passed Max's desk on they way back to their seats. Max had seen their grade, and apparently they had gotten a "D-."

"My mom's going to kill me." Max heard Gazzy mumble.

Soon enough, Max and Nudge were called up.

The teacher looked at them before sighing. "I'm very disappointed in you girls. You're missing an entire part of your paper."

Max snatched the paper from her teacher's hands, flipping through the pages frantically before finding that they were, in fact, missing a chuck of the last page.

She glared at Nudge. "What did you do?"

Nudge bit her lip. "When you went to the bathroom I went back and tried to rewrite our last couple of paragraphs but you came back from the bathroom just as the bell rang so we just printed it and I forgot."

Max slammed the paper onto the teacher's desk. "Nudge, every time you do something you screw it up, and I thought 'Maybe she won't screw this one simple thing up.'" Max shook her head. "I was wrong."

Nudge's lip trembled as tears welled in her eyes. "Max, I'm so sorry-"

Max put up her hand. "I'm done."

With that, she walked out of the classroom, ignoring Nudge's crying and the teacher's yelling.

**ANOTHER LINE BREAK BUT WAIT NO LINE WHAAAAT**

Max was studying when someone knocked on her door. She looked up just as her mom walked into her room.

"Hey mom, what's for dinner?" she said, smiling.

Her mom smiled. "That's why I came in here actually. Nudge's family invited us over for dinner tonight. Ari's coming as well."

Max's smile faltered. She had decided not to tell her mom about her and Nudge's falling out, and she still felt it necessary to keep it from her.

"Sounds good mom. I can't wait."

Her mom beamed at her before leaving her room.

Just as Max refocused on her notes, her older brother Ari barged in.

Max tossed her hair back. "What do you want, Ari?"

Ari rolled his eyes, "Already annoyed by me, little sister? I've only been home from college two days."

"What do you want?" Max asked, repeating her earlier question.

"I wanted to talk to you about dinner at Nudge's tonight." Ari said, fidgeting with his hands.

Max ignored his actions, something she had been doing a lot of lately. "Stop beating around the bush, I have a test tomorrow I have to study for."

Ari stopped with his hands and looked Max straight in the eye. "Belle and I have been seeing each other for the past couple of months and we are going to tell everyone tonight."

Ari's confession was met with an explosion of silence before Max replied.

"Come again?"

**GETTING FED UP WITH NO LINE BREAKS**

Max sighed as she knocked on the door of Nudge's house, grateful it hadn't burst open the moment she raised her hand to knock.

She heard footsteps from inside approach the door before it was opened by Nudge.

"Come in, come in." she said, ushering everyone inside.

Once Max was inside, she was met with the familiar scene of Nudge's mom, Harriet, and Nudge's dad, Kenji, cooking in the kitchen while Belle set the table.

Max's mom entered the kitchen and hugged Harriet. "Harriet, it's been so long."

"Too long if you ask me, Val."

After everyone was hugged, Nudge and Max hurried up to Nudge's room to avoid having to socialize with the adults.

Once they were in the room, Nudge turned to Max, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Max, I'm so sorry. About the paper, about the text, everything."

Max sniffled. "No, I'm sorry Nudge. I'm sorry about blowing up about the paper, it was an honest mistake. And I forgive you about the text. I forgave you a long time ago, I was just so mad. But it's just a text. I'm over it."

Both girls hugged each other, their tears wetting each other's shirts.

Once they pulled away from each other, Max gasped. "Oh my goodness, I have to tell you about something Ari told me-"

Max was cut off by Harriet shouting to the girls from downstairs. "Dinner's ready!"

**Please help. Rae can not figure out how ti insert those line things. SOS.**

**What will happen at dinner? Is Max and Nudge's friendship finally mended, or will future conflicts hurt them even more? What's going on with Belle and Ari? Find out in chapter 5!**

**Love you my stars!**

**-cw**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, I'm terrible. Sorry 'bout that. Here's some shameless family fluff to make up for it.**

**Note: Writing this chapter made me ravenous!**

Max sat down between Ari and Nudge, grinning at the food being set out on the dinner table. Nudge's mom had made green bean casserole topped with fried onions, scalloped potatoes covered in mountains of cheese, and a golden brown roast turkey that made Max's mouth water.

After Max and Nudge each poured themselves a glass of iced tea, the adults helped themselves to red wine that Kenji had brought back from his trip to Africa

"This wine had been preserved for almost fifty years," he explained as he topped off his glass. "And it wasn't too cheap to get, so I hope you like it."

As soon as everyone was situated, Max noticed that Ari took Belle's hand in his own under the table. _Oh boy,_ she thought to herself. _Here we go._

The couple stood up together, gaining the full attention of everyone at the table. "Ari?" Max's mom said in confusion the same time Nudge's mom said: "Belle, what's going on?"

"Mrs. Harriet, Mr. Kenji," Ari said nervously. "Belle and I have something to tell you."

"Oh my goodness," Harriet exclaimed. "Belle, are you pregnant?"

The woman in question narrowed her eyes. "Of course not, Mama!" she replied angrily. "We're just dating!"

Belle's words were meet by mixed responses. Max gave her brother's arm an affectionate squeeze before giving Belle a hug. Nudge shot up from her seat and almost tackled her sister, all the while squealing in happiness. Harriet gave a shout of excitement before kissing Ari and Belle on the cheek, babbling about how she was so happy to see them together. Val gave Kenji a pointed look and he sighed, handing over a ten dollar bill.

Max saw the exchange and gave her mother a baffled look, only to have it waved off. After the general enthusiasm died down, both families tucked eagerly into their dinners, the occasional question about their relationship asked every few minutes.

When told that the duo had been dating for three months, Kenji paused with a fork full of green beans halfway to his mouth. "Why did you wait so long to tell us?" he inquired.

Belle blushed a pretty pink. "We wanted to make sure we were serious before we told anyone."

Val and Harriet nodded in understanding while Nudge rolled her eyes. "You could have at least given me some warning, Bee."

"I tried!" Belle almost shouted. "But you were too sad about Max to listen to what I was saying!"

Nudge turned red just as Val spoke up. "Why were you sad about Max?" she asked, eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"I was mad at Nudge for a while," Max said, keeping her eyes on her plate. "But we made up earlier." Harriet gave both girls a kind smile. "It's perfectly natural for best friends to fight every once in a while."

"Enough about us!" Nudge said. "Let's talk more about Ari and Belle!"

"Yeah," Max agreed. "Like, when's the wedding?"

Ari, who was currently in the middle of shoving a piece of turkey in his mouth, gave a low choking noise before answering. "Wedding?" he gasped, causing everyone to laugh.

Belle's blush returned. "We've only been dating for three months!"

"Your mother and I got married after two years," Kenji joked. "You never know…"

Val rolled her eyes at her friend's comment. "It's okay to take your time," she said with a gentle smile. "That's what Jeb and I did."

Harriet gave her a teasing look. "I wouldn't call six years taking your time."

Val stuck her tongue out at Harriet, making everyone giggle. "Too much wine for you!" Kenji remarked, carefully moving Harriet's wine glass away from his wife.

Max smiled at the scene in front of her, their conversation making her heart feel warm. Even though Max and Nudge were only feuding for a week, she missed the feeling of warmth and love she felt whenever their families had dinner together (which was quite often). She missed Nudge's laughs, Harriet's teasing, Kenji's humor, Belle's stories, Ari's rudeness, and her mother's smile.

In the midst of the conversation, Max turned to Nudge next to her. "I missed this," she said with a smile.

Nudge returned her smile. "I did too."

**GEE I SURE WISH I KNEW HOW TO USE LINEBREAKS**

Ari patted his flat stomach and gave Harriet a grateful look. "Thank you so much for cooking, Mrs. Harriet!" he said, suppressing a burp.

Harriet grinned. "It's no problem!" she said happily. As an afterthought, she added: "You might want to start calling me Mom now."

"Mama!" Belle exclaimed.

Trying to stop Harriet from embarrassing the young couple, even more, Kenji stood up in his seat. "Would anyone like some sweet potato and marshmallow pie? Harriet and I made it just before you guys arrived!"

Knowing better than to refuse homemade pie, everyone ate a slice. The pie was still warm, and the marshmallows almost melted in Max's mouth. Nudge let out a moan of contentment, causing a pleased smile to sprout on her mother's face.

"You guys really outdid yourselves tonight," Val said before putting another bite of pie in her mouth. "This is wonderful."

After everyone finished eating dessert, both families helped clear the table in record time. Three pieces of pie and two Tupperware full of beans and turkey were wrapped up for Max and her family. Everyone said goodbye on Nudge's doorstep, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the warm night.

Harriet made sure everyone got a hug while Kenji simply offered everyone a warm smile. Ari and Belle had to be physically pulled away from each other while Max and Nudge made plans to hang out the next day after school.

As their car pulled away, Max could still see Nudge's family waving at them from under the dim porch light.

**Sorry, this really isn't a Fax orientated chapter, but I really wanted to write this! Thank you all so much for being wonderful and patient! Writing this chapter really made me hungry so I'm going to see if there's any ice cream left in the freezer!**

**Love you all so very much,**

**celestialwhisperer**


End file.
